Challenges of Coexistence

Challenges of Coexistence

Introduction and Context

This bridge-building lecture, Challenges of Coexistence, by Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, was arranged and recorded by Muslims in Dialogue of Denmark. First of all, there was only a two-day notice because that's all I was given as well. And when I was invited to come here by the NBC people, who are a film crew that came from Saudi Arabia, and their intention was to try to actually help increase the communication, and I just happened to be with one of my teachers, Sheikh Abdullah bin Baya, and I asked him what he thought.

He said, it's wajib. In other words, it's not something you have to go. It was as simple as that. So he told me to go. And so, here I am in Copenhagen, and I think what's really intriguing about everything is that everybody in the world knows that you're here. And before these events, really nobody was aware of Islam in Denmark.

And it's a small community, but obviously it's had a major impact now for a number of reasons.

Denmark's Positive Qualities

First and foremost, I want to say that my view of Denmark was always informed by very positive qualities, because Denmark is yearly one of the least corrupt countries in the world. When they do the corruption index, it is one of the least corrupt countries in the world.

There's an immense amount of transparency in the Danish community, and that is something that is really very Islamic. I hope she's not dissenting with me on that. That's something, but don't worry about that.

It's good to hear a baby cry, and European birth rates are declining so rapidly. I'm happy to know there's still some babies in Denmark. The other thing about Denmark for me is I happen to be a lover of Soren Kierkegaard, and I really wish he was alive to comment on this current situation, because he had an immense amount to say about the declining impact of religion on people's lives, and it was something that distressed him greatly.

Boredom and Modern Stimulation

But one of the things that he did say is that the root of all evil is boredom. And I think there's an immense amount of truth to that statement, that one of the real tragic aspects of the modern age is we love stimulation. We love these events that create an immense amount of stimulation, and the media thrives on these things, you see.

And really, at the end of the day, an immense amount of blame, as far as I'm concerned, is placed on the media, because this began as a media event, with cartoons that were published in a media, which is the print media, and in turn, the global media blew this event out of proportion, amplifying it, and suddenly we're dealing with all of

the fallout. You see, this is what happens. And I really believe that the media has so much responsibility for not just this event, but so many of the tragic events that take place.

And many of the people working in the media have no idea of the type of impact that they have. Many of them are very cynical and really shrug their shoulders about these things. And so I really feel that increasingly we are going to have to deal with the phenomenon of a globalized media, and how freedom of speech and responsibility, which is really at the crux of this issue, how freedom of speech and human responsibility can be reconciled.

Freedom of Speech and Responsibility

Because one of the things that one of the great American chief justices said was, it's not freedom of speech to shout fire in a crowded theater. In other words, with freedom of speech goes responsibility. And so it's very important that we are acutely aware of how often, and far too often, our responses are elicited by the media.

I'll give you one example. Right now there is a major humanitarian crisis in Nigeria. Very little is being done about it.

Why? Because it's not in the media. The tsunami, which was a major media event, elicited a massive response from all over the world. Money, concern, care.

Nothing's changed in Indonesia. If you go to Indonesia today and go look, people are living in very, very dire conditions. But all the donations have gone down because the media has moved on to another interest, another target.

You see, Pakistan right now, an immense amount of human suffering going on after the earthquake. It's just not that important. It's not very high up on the media's priorities.

Media Manipulation and Priorities

Do you see? I mean, there's a distracting media that is interested in the midriff of Britney Spears, or whoever the latest, whatever you want to call them, I don't know. I'll try to be polite tonight. But there's that media.

You know, this media that's obsessed with celebrities and what's happening. And then there's the media that's concerned with the global issues. But the global issues are entirely determined by editors.

I'll give you one example. I had an interview with Reuters, and it was a reasonably extensive interview, but I mentioned they asked me a couple questions about Iran, and I gave a few answers. The next day, the entire interview was framed around Iran.

And I asked the person who interviewed me, because I knew him, why was the interview framed around Iran? And he said, well, Iran was at the top of our list that day. And so the editor said, did he talk about Iran? And he said, yes. And he said, frame the story around Iran.

So there's an example of a story completely determined by an editorial process. So I really feel that we, all of us, in many ways are victims of a very small group of people, media personalities, pundits, the talking heads, that really have an inordinate impact on our lives. And we need to question that, because part of the problem is people are bored.

They don't know how to sit alone in a room. So they turn on CNN to see what's happening, or BBC, or what's the station here? Denmark's Radio. So you can turn on that, and then they'll tell you what's happening in the world.

What Really Happens in the World

That's not what's happening in the world. Babies are being born, people are dying. I was just in a house in East London, where we went to visit a man who was sick, a Muslim man.

And he was dying of stomach cancer, 31 years old, four children, and his wife was pregnant. We went to visit him two days ago. And I found a man who was starving to death, literally starving to death.

And I trained as a nurse, I'm a registered nurse, and I work in an intensive care unit. And I said, why isn't he on an IV solution? And they said, because we were told by the hospital it's just prolonging the inevitable. And so they don't pay for it.

And I said, well he should be on a drip, he should be getting some, all he was taking was water. And it was going on for weeks. He was literally starving to death, which is a criminal act in the United States.

Selective Media Coverage

That should be news. I mean I think people should know about that, because a country that considers itself to be civilized, should not have situations like that happening. And to say it's only prolonging the inevitable, well maybe his children have a right to have him around for a few more months.

So there's an example, it's not a news piece, but when the woman in Florida would have her tube pulled out, it was international news. And this goes on all the time. So part of it I think is that we need to stop being manipulated by these news agencies.

And the Muslims in particular have become pawns in a really wretched game here.